Heat’s LeBron James Shoot Way Into Record Book

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

February 12, 2013

LeBron James became the first N.B.A. player to score 30 points and shoot at least 60 percent in six straight games, Chris Bosh scored 32 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and the host Miami Heat defeated the Portland Trail Blazers, 117-104, on Tuesday night.

James was 11 for 15 from the field and scored 30 points. Dwyane Wade added 24 points for Miami, which wasted two 14-point leads before putting the game away with a 14-0 run in the final minutes.

It was the 1,000th regular-season win in Heat history. But on this night, James’s accomplishment was the most significant event.

“Like I say over and over, I know the history of the game,” James said in a televised postgame interview. “I know how many unbelievable players who came through the ranks, who paved the way for me and my teammates. And for me to be in the record books by myself with such a stat — any stat — it’s big time.”

James has made 70 of his last 96 shots over the past six-plus games. According to the Heat, only Adrian Dantley and Moses Malone had done the 30-point, 60-percent streak in five straight outings before James joined the club.

LeBron James, scoring against the Trail Blazers, recorded 30 points while shooting at least 60 percent in his sixth consecutive game.

Alan Diaz / Associated Press

RAPTORS 109, NUGGETS 108 Rudy Gay made a pull-up jump shot with less than five seconds remaining to lift host Toronto over short-handed Denver. Only 4 of Gay’s 17 points came after the first quarter, and he spent long stretches of the second half stuck on the bench after landing in foul trouble. “Obviously, it’s a not a game I’m proud of,” said Gay, who beat Indiana with an overtime jumper last Friday, “but I’m proud to get this win.”

PLAYER JOINS ANTIBULLYING GROUP Denver Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried became the first N.B.A. player to join Athlete Ally, an organization aimed at combating homophobia in sports.

Faried, 23, was raised by a lesbian couple in Newark.

“I have two moms and I love them both very much,” Faried said in a statement. “I respect, honor and support them in every way.”

Athlete Ally, founded by a former Maryland wrestler, Hudson Taylor, in January 2011, has enlisted other professional athletes to push the cause against antigay bullying. The former N.H.L. player Sean Avery is on the board of directors, and four N.F.L. players have signed on as supporters: Baltimore’s Brendon Ayanbadejo, Minnesota’s Chris Kluwe, Cleveland’s Scott Fujita and Houston’s Connor Barwin.

So far, no Major League Baseball players have publicly joined Athlete Ally. JOHN BRANCH